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Michael Platt, QMI Agency

Jul 16, 2014

, Last Updated: 1:16 AM ET

CALGARY ─ The family can cling to hope, and Calgary's Chief of Police certainly doesn't blame them.

But as one of the few people who's actually viewed the forensic evidence tying accused triple killer Douglas Garland to the disappearance of three Calgarians, Chief Rick Hanson says he has absolutely no doubt.

"They are dead," he says, matter-of-factly.

Calgary's top cop gives absolutely no wiggle room for "maybe" or "what if" in the murder of five-year-old Nathan O'Brien and his grandparents, Alvin and Kathryn Liknes.

It's impossible to argue with someone who has all the facts: Hanson already knows what is soon to be presented before a judge and lawyers in court, and he has a one-word answer for those asking if the trio is certainly, without-any-doubt dead.

"Yes."

It gives the chief no satisfaction to be so sure, other than to know that with certainty comes a likelihood of conviction when accused killer Douglas Garland goes to trial.

"This is not a decision we come by easily, but when all the evidence points to one thing, we would be remiss if we weren't totally honest, as painful as we know that is for the family, and for the community," says the chief.

"The facts point to only one outcome."

He says officers in Calgary took this case to heart ─ and with the three bodies yet to be recovered, they still do.

"When a file like this comes up there's an emotion component for everyone involved ─ they take it very personally," he says.

"With three missing people, all the officers put themselves in that position: what if that happened at my home, or to someone I knew. And they realize the impact it's having not only on the family, but the whole community."

And every one of the 200 cops working this case desperately wanted it to remain a missing persons case, says Hanson.

"Every single officer wanted nothing more than to find that family alive."

The chief says he's watched officers going non-stop on the case since Nathan and his grandparents were reported missing June 30, giving up weekends and working extra hours for a chance to save the family ─ and now, to find the three bodies and offer closure.

"Since this file opened and the first call came in, they have not stopped working," says Hanson.

"They come in every day, working overtime, and working to the point of exhaustion, and then run home for a quick sleep and then back in again ─ it's because they don't want to miss any clue, or tip, or lead."

He talks about one officer searching the dump in 30 degree heat, having to pause to vomit from the stench. "He put his mask back on and went right back in," says the chief.

Despite dedication to a job few of us could manage, some have criticised Calgary's cops for not being more open with the evidence they have.

Why are they so convinced the three are dead, and why do they believe Garland did it, and why can't they share?

Hanson says it's a simple matter of law.

In Canada, Garland remains innocent until convicted ─ if he's convicted ─ when the gavel falls and a verdict becomes official.

That's why Hanson and the rest of the Calgary Police Service can't explain exactly why they believe the 52-year-old Airdrie man is guilty of murdering the child and grandparents.

Garland has the right to answer that evidence before a judge, before the public gets a chance to weigh in.

"The courts have made it real clear that any evidence will be tried in a court of law and not in the court of public opinion," says Hanson.

"Any police service that chooses to put the evidence in front of the media and public jeopardizes that right to a fair trial, and it leads to the possibility all this incredible, intense work will be put at risk.

"People have to trust we've got the evidence, and it will come out in due time."